Ain't No Mountain High Enough

The Pitons on St. Lucia inspired me to use this title. They are two of the highest most dramatic peaks in the Caribbean. This was the next stop down the island chain for us. But wait, I get ahead of myself.

Rick returned from his short trip to the states on Monday, December 3rd. We had our friends Seth and Lesley arriving on the 8th in St. Lucia so we needed to get a move on to ensure we’d be there when they arrived.

We departed La Marin, Martinique on December 5th and said good bye to the last of the French islands in the Caribbean chain; at least for a few months. The sail to St. Lucia was just over 21 nautical miles and the weather was forecasted to be good for the passage.

During the sail, we noticed some squall activity heading in the direction of St. Lucia. As the line developed, a small funnel cloud formed over the north end of St. Lucia which was a very eerie sight. We were glad not to be there and able to observe the cloud from afar. We did run through a few showers, but did not have any high winds which was very nice.

Rick had his fishing line out, but didn’t get anything on this trip. Thus far, the only fish he’s landed was the mahi mahi on our sail to Dominica from Les Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe.

St. Lucia is one of the prettiest islands that we’ve seen. It’s the second largest of the Windward Islands. For those unfamiliar with the Windward Islands, they run from Martinique down to Grenada. They are called “windward” because when the English settled these islands, they had to sail into the wind to get to them. The direction from which the wind is blowing is called Windward. Therefore, these became known as the Windward Islands.

Now, the Leeward Islands start with Anguilla and extend to Dominica, just north of Martinique. Presumably that would mean that you’d sail with the wind to get to them. However, it seems that we’re always sailing into the wind no matter what. Murphy’s Law, I suppose. That’s your educational lesson for today. Oh, and for those who are wondering which island is the largest in the Windwards…it’s Martinique.

We arrived in Rodney Bay in the afternoon and found a very nice spot to anchor. Chris and I went ashore to clear in and I was again on the search for a new SIM card for our cellular phone. We’ve been getting new SIM cards on each island because it allows us to call back to the US much more economically than using the satellite phone or land lines.

We moved the boat the following day down to Marigot Bay. On the sail down, we ran across the Queen Mary II! She was quite a sight and we were right up on her outside of Castries.

Marigot Bay was perfect for us because it was very calm and would allow us to install the new internet antenna I’d ordered. Rick brought it back with him on his trip. The new antenna allows us to pick up signals from a greater distance. The antenna needed to be mounted to the top of the mast, then a CAT-6 cable run down the mast and through the boat to our internal router. Talk about a job! With Seth and Lesley just a day away, our boat appeared a disaster area. We did manage in the end to get the antenna installed and operating properly. It took three of us to get the job done and Chris very generously helped us out.

Seth and Lesley arrived right on time and Rick and I were at the airport to greet them. We had a great time with them while they were here, even though Seth had to work during the day. We anchored near the Pitons which are an icon of the Caribbean. We really couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful spot. The snorkeling, diving and hiking were terrific.

Seth and Lesley enjoyed their time on Eyes of the World just as much as we enjoyed having them. While it was sad to see them go, Rick and I were excited to continue our journey south to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

That’s it for this update. I hope all is well with you and yours – and we hope everyone has a fantastic holiday season!